Hello, Let Me Introduce You To Lucy

Lucifigus

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A few years ago, I courted what I thought was a stray cat. Although it was December and she looked cold and hungry, as it turned out, she belonged to someone. A couple days before Christmas, I went to the shelter and adopted Lucy. Lucy had been seized from a house with 20 cats; I was led to believe she had issues. Lucy was the longest resident at the shelter and was not a happy cat. When we did the "meet and greet", she sat in the middle of the carrier, unresponsive and despondent - her hair felt like a wire brush. I took her home.

I soon learned she had Feline Herpes, but as it turned out, it is a mild case and easily managed. She was very skittish, and from her reaction with my hands moving near her, she had been abused. After a couple weeks under the bed, we established the bed as her sanctuary. After each feeding, she would accept some attention and loving on the bed, but she had (has) many conditioned responses to people and it was a long road to build some trust. We got there.

The vet said she was about three years old. In a house full of cats, I calculate she had between 6 and 8 litters. She has a bit of a belly pouch that sways when she runs. But she loves her belly being rubbed when she is relaxed and open to affection. In her previous situation, there was a lot of competition for the food, and after three years with me, she still approaches her food bowl cautiously, and with some trepidation.

I live in a third floor, two bedroom flat. I set up a couple window seats where she could enjoy the sunshine and watch the birds and other outside activities. Lucy is a very gentle soul and she reacts poorly to loud noise. The first summer was tough as the windows were all open and the street noise and lawnmowers and such startled her often. When she was having a bout of herpes, or was tired of the noise, she sought refuge in a closet, so I made a small bed for her in the closet, which she still uses.

Noise bothers her so much, once I was feeding her and I broke a bowl in the sink. For two weeks she would not come in the kitchen when I was there. She does not like to be picked up, or handled in any way. She never sits on my lap. The only time I handle her is to put her in a carrier to take her to the vet. I have to ambush her in order to do this, and sometimes she will not have anything to do with me for three days (barring feeding) after we're home. But she has settled into a comfortable groove.

Lucy is quite affectionate and loves attention and love, but only on her terms. When she is relaxed and open to affection, she rolls over and loves to have her belly rubbed. She gets rambunctious and runs about a bit, but I cannot play with her at all. She just will not allow any quick physical movement around her. She will not chase a laser light, and she is not really interested in boxes. But she does love the warmth of sunshine. When I come home from work, she meets me at the top of the stairs and rubs my leg while I remove my shoes.

She very rarely meows in the classic way cats do. She has a deep trill or murmur that she uses as her vocalization. Lucy loves treats (OK, I spoil her), and she has a very endearing characteristic when treats are possible. She raises her paw and looks plaintively at me when she thinks she is due some treats.

All in all, she is a most wonderful cat. I read of other cats with serious herpes or behavior problems and I realize just how lucky I am with Lucy. Sometimes she spends part of the night on the bed with me, but often some distance away. Sometimes during the night, she will come up to me and curl up beside me for pets and belly rubs. When I drift back to sleep, she touches my cheek with her paw to let me know I'm not finished.
This is both of us in a happy place.

I have only been on this board for a couple days, and I am already learning things. I look forward to being part of the community.
 

tabbytom

Happiness is being owned by a cat
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Lucifigus and Lucy, on behalf of The Catsite community, a warm
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Glad that you’ve joined us and you are in the right place for all things cat.

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Thank you for adopting Lucy and she’s beautiful :lovecat4: :lovecat3: Do post more photos of her please.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any and start a new thread of your own and post them under the appropriate forum headings and do check out the many informative articles we have here in Articles | The Cat Site

Enjoy your stay and see ya around :wink:
 
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Lucifigus

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And she was very lucky that her long wait at the shelter, ended with getting adopted by you.:petcat:
There was some serendipity in effect that day. I had chosen Lucy from her online photo and description. When I was at the shelter, I was looking at the various cats in the showroom, and there were many I could have been happy with, I'm sure, but Lucy was not there. There was a young volunteer in the room, and for a moment, a women came from the back and was speaking with the volunteer. When she finished and began walking away, I asked the volunteer if Lucy was still available. The volunteer looked confused, and the woman heard me ask about Lucy, and she turned around and said Lucy wasn't there, and asked if I was interested in Lucy. I said I was, and she explained that Lucy was in the back, but she would arrange for a meet and greet. If the woman had not been in the room, I may very well have gone home with a different cat. Sometimes I shudder to think I may have missed her through simple bad luck.
 

dustydiamond1

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:hithere::welcomesign: I am so happy you two found each other. Our ex-stray Gypsy enjoys tummy rubs when she wants them. She really didn't know how to play when she first took over our home and hearts but she is learning. I don't know how many toys I've bought for her that she wouldn't have anything to do with (thank goodness for Petsmart, Petco and Walmart return policies) She is just now starting to show an interest in boxes. She doesn't like catnip, does Lucy? One 'real' cat toy I bought her she enjoys is 'da bird', she loves chasing and jumping after it. It reminds her of when she would go for the real birds when she was out on her own. She likes to chase these orange plastic practice golf balls I roll down the hall.
Orange Balls.jpg
 

Kreatorcat

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This is the kind of story that makes me log on here every day. You,kind sir,are why I still believe in humanity. All of us here applaud your efforts to give a cat that probably would have never had a home the love she so desperately needs. Welcome,and keep posting pics of your beautiful room mate. And please scratch that belly for me.
 
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Lucifigus

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:hithere: She doesn't like catnip, does Lucy? One 'real' cat toy I bought her she enjoys is 'da bird', she loves chasing and jumping after it.
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Lucy seems to like catnip somewhat, but I have never used catnip with any previous cats so I really don't know what to expect. I have to put a few treats in the catnip to get her nose into it, then she will roll about, get goofy for a few minutes and attack imaginary items on the bed. However, I cannot play with her using my hands and that brings out a bit of disappointment for both of us. I may have to experiment more with catnip.

I have some chewy toys with catnip in them that I throw across the bed, and she will try and pick them out of the air, or attack them where they fall. This is a somewhat recent behavior pattern, as I have tried this with many toys, just to have her look at me like I am some kind of idiot. She will also jump at treats being tossed, and if she bats them horizontally, she will vigorously chase them.

When Lucy first came home, it was some time before I realized the magnitude of her past and conditioning. After the first year I was surprised how far she had come. It was much more than I had expected, and I was overjoyed. During the second year she continued to develop, and come out of her shell and establish more firm patterns of closeness. In the last year, her changes are much less, but still evident. I recently described her to a friend as "almost normal, to which she replied, "that sounds like most cats I know." In reality, she tolerates and interacts carefully with others but she is only truly comfortable with me, and we have things pretty much worked out in defining our relationship.

In many cases, I think much of my success with Lucy has been about what I don't do, as much as what I do. I have never tried to push her in a direction or behavior pattern she was unwilling to go. Once I realized how much she hated being handled, I stopped and realized I can only encourage her to do something. It seems to be all about trying to create a safe and supportive environment that allows her to make her own decisions about what she is willing to do and what's comfortable. So far, I feel I have had great success with that approach.
 
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